In April 2017 a crew from SkateLife Calgary joined up with SkateLife Toronto to go on a skate-trip to China; the team helped out with local skateboard events for the community of skateboarders in Nanning, China, but also got to street film around the city.

This spring, I jumped on a plane with my friend Jaron Whelan to join with a crew of friends from Toronto (Drew Fraser, Rylan Shaver, Jordan Smail, Chris Brown, and Evan Vandenberg) enroute to Nanning, China. We went on the trip to help host some small skateboard events in the region, to volunteer with some local humanitarian organizations, and to experience Chinese culture. The trip was organized by SkateLife Canada, which is an organization dedicated to serving and building skateboard community in North America and other parts of the world.

Photos: Chris Brown

During our trip, we assisted local skateboard shops and companies to put on a weekend-long skateboard event called Road Rage, which involved teams competing for prizes in 'King of the Road' type challenges. Kids ate live fish, peed their own pants, cut their hair into mohawks, and ollied into rivers all for the sake of gaining their team points to win. It was a rad experience to build hype in the local skate community, and to bless dudes with prizes that we knew would get put to good use!

Jordan Smail, Ollie. Photo: Chris Brown

Hacking darts. Photo: Chris Brown

Jaron Whelan, Ollie to Hillbomb. Photo: Chris Brown

Skateboard culture within Nanning was insane. Skitching behind stranger’s mopeds as transportation, kilometers of marble plazas, little to zero bust factor, and more skate-spot opportunities than one could comprehend. In our free time the team went street filming at random spots throughout the city. During the trip my primary role was as a filmer, and there were many spots along the trip that I would now consider some of my favourite memories of being behind the lens.

Jaron Whelan, Bs Wallride. Photo: Chris Brown

Drew Fraser, Ollie. Photo: Chris Brown

Aze, Bs Noseblunt. Photo: Chris Brown

Drew Fraser, Kickflip. Photo: Chris Brown

Drew Fraser, Bs Wallie. Photo: Chris Brown

Spencer, Ollie. Photo: Chris Brown

A huge thank you to Shredz Skateshop, Revolution Skateshop, Mehrathon Distribution, and San Skateboards for donating prizing and making these events rad. Also a huge thank you to those who donated finances to make this trip possible!